Bill S.2306
187th (2011 - 2012)

An Act authorizing the lease of the Daly field complex located in the Brighton section of the city of Boston

Bill Title: An Act authorizing the lease of the Daly field complex located in the Brighton section of the city of Boston

By Mr. Brownsberger, a petition (subject to Joint Rule 12) (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 2306) of William N. Brownsberger for legislation to authorize the lease of the Daly field complex located in the Brighton section of the city of Boston. State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding any other general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the following entity shall have all the rights, powers and responsibilities enumerated herein: the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. is a private, charitable, non-profit corporation created by articles of organization; duly filed with the secretary of state’s office on August 29, 2011. The Daly Field complex shall be used for community, high school and collegiate athletic events, including tennis, football, softball, soccer, rugby, running, field hockey, lacrosse, crew, and other athletic events as determined by the board of directors of Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. Nothing in this act shall be construed as establishing the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. as a governmental body.

SECTION 2. The Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. shall be governed by a board of directors consisting of: 15 members, 2 of whom shall be appointed by the governor, including 1 of whom shall be the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation or a designee; 3 of whom shall be appointed by the president of Simmons College, including 1 who shall serve as the chair of the board; 4 of whom shall be appointed by the principal of Brighton high school; 2 of whom shall be residents of the Allston Brighton sections of the city of Boston, including 1 whom shall be selected by the state representative representing the seventeenth Suffolk district, and 1 whom shall be selected by the state representative representing the eighteenth Suffolk district; 1 of whom shall be selected by the state senator representing the second Suffolk and Middlesex district; 1 of whom shall be selected by the executive director of Community Rowing, Incorporated; 1 of whom shall be selected by the president of the Charles River Conservancy; and 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Headmistress of Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, to oversee the continued use, daily operation and maintenance of the fields and facilities together with the land and appurtenances known as the Daly Field complex. Members of the board shall be appointed for a term of 3 years with no limit on the number of terms they may serve; provided, however, members appointed by the governor shall serve for a term coterminous with that of the governor. Members shall hold office until a successor is appointed.

Except as hereinafter provided, the department of conservation and recreation shall determine and schedule the use of the fields, facilities, land and appurtenances of the Daly Field complex. The department of conservation and recreation shall ensure fair and reasonable use of the fields, facilities, land and appurtenances for practice and games based upon the needs of Simmons College, the Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities, including Allston-Brighton Little League, Incorporated, Brighton high school football, and public schools and youth sports leagues from the Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities. The department of conservation and recreation shall make every effort to balance the allocation of practice and game needs of Simmons College, the Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities, including Allston-Brighton Little League, Incorporated, and Brighton high school football in a manner that provides equal opportunity, time and access. The department of conservation and recreation shall guarantee adequate field time to meet the program needs of Simmons College and the needs of Brighton high school football. The community needs, including Allston-Brighton Little League, Incorporated and public schools and youth sports leagues from the Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities, shall also be accommodated by the department of conservation and recreation. Field needs shall include Simmons College practice and game time reserved on the full Daly Field complex during weekdays from 5:30 P.M. to 9:30 P.M, from March to May, inclusive and mid August to November, inclusive; provided that Brighton high school football shall have reserved field time on Friday evenings from mid August to November, inclusive, Allston-Brighton Little League, Incorporated, shall have reserved field time during weekdays from 5:30 to 8:30 P.M., inclusive, from May to July, inclusive. Brighton high school football shall have reserved field time during weekdays from 2:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M., inclusive, and on Friday evenings from mid August to November, inclusive. Saturdays shall be time reserved for and shared between Simmons College and the Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities and permitted through the department of conservation and recreation. Sundays shall be reserved for the Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities and permitted through the department of conservation and recreation. Any reserved times contained herein shall not be changed without the approval of the entity having the benefit of the reservation. Parties with reserved times shall notify the department of conservation and recreation of changes in usage or non-usage to maximize public use of the field or Daly Field complex. The department of conservation and recreation shall make every reasonable effort to permit during the reserved times if the field or Daly Field complex are not being used by the above named parties. During all times when the department of conservation and recreation does not permit usage of the field or the Daly Field complex, the field and Daly Field complex shall remain open and accessible for informal recreational usage by the general public. The board and the department of conservation and recreation may review reserved times at board meetings or otherwise to maximize field use. All remaining practice and game times shall be determined by the department of conservation and recreation, in consultation with the board. The department of conservation and recreation shall issue a report on the usage of the Daly Field complex and shall biannually file the report with the Daly Field complex board of directors and elected officials in the Massachusetts legislature representing Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities on or before January 1st and July 1st. Brighton high school football, Allston-Brighton Little League, Incorporated, and public schools and youth sports leagues from the Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities shall not be responsible for any operating or use permit costs associated with the Daly Field complex.

SECTION 3. Notwithstanding sections 40E to 40 I, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws or any other general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the commissioner of division of capital asset management and maintenance may, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation, enter into one 20 year lease and may enter into one 10 year extension thereafter with the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. for the fields and facilities together with the land and appurtenances of the Daly Field complex which is located east of the Daly Memorial Rink and west of the public launching ramp parking lot on Nonantum Road in the Brighton section of the city of Boston. Simmons College shall be responsible for all costs and expenses, including costs associated with any engineering, surveys, appraisals and lease preparation related to the 20 year lease, the one 10 year extension or other agreements authorized under this act. The one 10 year extension shall be automatically granted if Simmons College makes a significant investment in the Daly Field complex within the final years of the lease, if necessary, as determined by the department of conservation and recreation.

The 20 year lease shall provide for the fields and facilities together with the land and appurtenances, and a newly constructed or repaired synthetic turf field, synthetic football field, running track, tennis courts, lighting for the entire parcel, bleacher seating for all fields, tennis courts, and facilities to accommodate river access for crew and buildings, including press boxes, home and visitor locker rooms, ticket booths, storage, concessions, and a path along the shore of the Charles River extending from west of Daly Rink to the public access path at Community Rowing, Incorporated immediately east of the Daly Field complex. The department of conservation and recreation shall maintain this path. Simmons College, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation and the board of directors of the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc., shall manage and oversee the construction, refurbishment, repair and improvement to the fields and facilities of the Daly Field complex. Simmons College shall be responsible for all costs and expenses associated with any engineering, surveys, appraisals, construction, refurbishment, repair and improvements to the Daly Field complex; provided, that Simmons College expends approximately $5,000,000 on the construction, refurbishment, repair and improvements. Simmons College, in conjunction with the department of conservation and recreation, shall conduct a traffic and parking study at the Daly Field complex and shall report findings to the department of conservation and recreation, which will then distribute such findings to elected officials in the Massachusetts legislature representing the Allston, Brighton, and abutting communities who will then have 30 days thereafter to comment to the department of conservation and recreation. The construction, refurbishment and repair of all fields, facilities, land and appurtenances shall, where applicable, meet National Collegiate Athletic Association rules, regulations and standards. The department of conservation and recreation shall have approval over the construction, refurbishment, repair and improvements to the Daly Field complex and Charles River path to ensure that Simmons College satisfies the provisions of this paragraph.

Notwithstanding sections 40E to 40I, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws or any other general or special law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the 20 year lease, and the 10 year extension and other agreements executed under this section shall be on terms, conditions and consideration acceptable to the commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation; provided, however, that the 20 year lease, and the 10 year extension and other agreements shall provide that: (i) the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. shall oversee land, facilities, fields and appurtenances associated therewith during the term of the 20 year lease and one 10 year extension; (ii) the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. shall carry comprehensive general liability insurance naming the commonwealth as a co-insured, protecting the commonwealth against all claims for personal injury or property damage arising from land and appurtenances associated therewith during the term of the lease; provided, that Simmons College shall be responsible for all costs and expenses associated with carrying comprehensive general liability insurance; (iii) the Daly Field complex shall be accessible to the general public when not in use by permitees; (iv) the lessee shall be responsible for outreach and stewardship; (v) the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. shall not design or construct any facilities on the parcel without the written approval of the commissioner of the department of capital asset management and maintenance and the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation;(vi) Simmons College shall be responsible for utility costs, subject to the 20 year lease and the one 10 year extension, and general day-to-day maintenance of the Daly Field complex; and (vii) Simmons College shall be responsible for the maintenance of the synthetic surface it shall install on the field.

The 20 year lease and the one 10 year lease extension shall be reviewed by the inspector general for comment and recommendation. The division of capital asset management and maintenance shall file any proposed construction or repairs to any facilities, with the house and senate clerks, who shall forward the same to the joint committee on state administration and regulatory oversight, the state representative from the seventeenth Suffolk district, the state representative from the eighteenth Suffolk district and the state senator from the second Suffolk and Middlesex district 60 days prior to the effective date of the proposed construction, repairs, lease extension or any other agreement.

Before entering into the 20 year lease, the one 10 year extension or other any agreement under this act the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance shall, in consultation with the commissioner of the department of conservation and recreation, determine the exact boundaries of the Daly Field complex after completion of a survey.

The Board of Trustees of Simmons College shall contribute $500,000 to the department of conservation and recreation for the sole purpose of funding a portion of the Watertown Riverfront Park Restoration Project along Charles River Road in the town of Watertown, to be paid as follows: $250,000 at the time of execution of the 20 year lease, and $250,000 upon issuance of all permits required to proceed with construction.

SECTION 4. Notwithstanding any general or special law or rule or regulation to the contrary, any agreements provided for under this act relating to the advertising, bidding or award of contracts, the procurement of services or to the construction and design of improvements shall not be applicable to Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc.

SECTION 5. If the land, facilities, fields and appurtenances comprising the Daly Field complex cease to be used by the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. for the purposes and in the manner described in this act or if the Allston Brighton Friends of Daly Field, Inc. cease to be the lessee at any time before July 31, 2043, the Daly Field complex shall revert to the commonwealth upon such terms and conditions as the commissioner of division of capital asset management and maintenance may determine, and shall be assigned to the care, custody and control of the department of conservation and recreation. Should the Daily Field complex revert to the commonwealth, any further disposition thereof shall be subject to the provisions of 40E to 40J, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws.

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